Two West Kelowna councillors are calling for stronger enforcement around youth riding electric dirt bikes recklessly on city roads, saying someone is going to get seriously hurt, or worse.
At council乌鸦传媒檚 July 22 meeting, both Jason Friesen and Garrett Millsap shared observations of kids tearing down busy streets at high speeds.
乌鸦传媒淚 understand wanting kids to have fun,乌鸦传媒� Friesen said. 乌鸦传媒淭he problem is that what I乌鸦传媒檓 witnessing is that it乌鸦传媒檚 going to be fun until one of them gets killed. And I have a problem with that."
Friesen noted that he is not allowed to ride a dirt bike down the street that doesn乌鸦传媒檛 have lights, signals, or mirrors.
乌鸦传媒淎nd if you were to see me doing that, you乌鸦传媒檇 pull me over and we乌鸦传媒檇 have a discussion,乌鸦传媒� he said to Staff Sgt. Brendan Dolan, the officer in charge of the West Kelowna RCMP Detachment, who was in attendance.
乌鸦传媒淭hat is certainly on our radar,乌鸦传媒� Staff Sgt. Dolan said. 乌鸦传媒淲e have to remember that the majority of people riding these bikes are youths, and don't have the life experience such as yourself or I might have with regards to operating a motor vehicle on a public road.乌鸦传媒�
Staff Sgt. Dolan promised council that he would discuss the matter with the detachment乌鸦传媒檚 traffic division to find strategies on how to best address the situation, and encouraged residents to report specific incidents with as much detail as possible, including times and locations, to help RCMP respond.
乌鸦传媒淲e乌鸦传媒檙e constrained with the amount of police officers on the road at any given time,乌鸦传媒� he said. 乌鸦传媒淚f we can get that repetitive reporting乌鸦传媒� we can kind of be proactive in that approach.乌鸦传媒�
Coun. Garrett Millsap described seeing the issue firsthand while visiting Nelson this summer.
乌鸦传媒淭hese kids were going down the road doing wheelies down Main Street,乌鸦传媒� he said. 乌鸦传媒淚 actually stopped them, and I said, 'How fast are you guys going?' One kid goes, 乌鸦传媒榊eah, this thing will do 140 km/h.乌鸦传媒櫸谘淮綕
Millsap said he wants to see tougher penalties, including confiscating bikes, noting that he saw three electric bikes on his way to the council meeting "going down the middle of Boucherie Road faster than traffic."
乌鸦传媒淚 would really like to see us push up enforcement, because someone is going to get seriously hurt or die. And if I don乌鸦传媒檛 say something now, then I will regret it. Let the parents phone and find out what was going on,乌鸦传媒� he said.
